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- 2023 Scottish Open Badminton
- Emirates Arena, Glasgow, Scotland
- Thursday, October 5th – Sunday, October 8th
The 2023 Scottish Open Badminton takes place this weekend with Ireland’s Nhat Nguyen as the top seed. Nguyen is looking to become the first Irishman to win the title for over half a century. He gets his bid to win the title underway against Matthias Kicklitz on Friday, and here we look ahead to his match and name our latest Badminton betting picks.
The Scottish Open is one of the oldest Badminton competitions in the world. Dating back to 1907, there are only two older events. The most recent winner was Ng Tze Yong of Malaysia in 2021. Yong defeated compatriot Soong Joo Ven in the final to win what was his third title of the year.
Our Scottish Open 2021 Men’s Singles Champion: Ng Tze Yong! 🏆🇲🇾🏴 pic.twitter.com/IZocKaIBCB
— BadmintonScot (@BadmintonScot) November 28, 2021
There was no competition held in 2022 for logistical reasons related to the Commonwealth Games. Sadly, Yong isn’t competing this year. He is currently at the 2022 Asian Games in China (delayed from last year), where he is progressing nicely.
Historically, English players have dominated this event. England’s men have won the competition a record 44 times. The English domination was from a more distant period, and these days, the winners come from a mixture of Asia and Continental Europe.
Denmark has been strong in recent years, with Hans-Kristian Vittinghus (2015) and Anders Antonsen (2016) winning back-to-back. In 2017, Toby Penty of England took the honors, but since then, it has been Asia that has dominated with Liu Haichao winning for China in 2018, Lakshya Sen in 2019, and Ng Tze Tong in 2021.
Top Seeds to win the 2023 Scottish Open
The number one seed this year is Nhat Nguyen. Although Nguyen represents Ireland, he is of Vietnamese descent and has been brought up more on traditional Asian Badminton techniques.
Nguyen started playing against his Vietnamese father when he was younger. He is now coached by Iskandar Zulkarnain Zainuddin of Malaysia, who has helped him claim a spot inside the world’s top 50. In the opening round, Nguyen will play Matthias Kicklitz of Germany. The Irish top seed is -500 to beat Kicklitz (+333).
The draw is split in two. On the top half of the draw with Nguyen is Kalle Koljonen (3), Luis Enrique Penalver (6), and Sankar Muthusamy Subramanian (8). On the bottom side of the draw are Jan Louda (2), Mark Caljouw (4), Mads Christophersen (5), and Kai Schaefer (7).
Jan Louda currently doesn’t know who he will play in the opening round on Friday. He will play against one of the eight qualifiers who will be battling it out for a place in the first round when they meet on Thursday.
If he manages to make it through the opening round, Louda will also be playing a qualifier in the second round. The draw has been kind to the Czech, as he will play Qualifier 2 in the first round. If he comes through that, he will then play the winner of Qualifier 4 and Qualifier 7 in the second round. This makes him a good pick to win the tournament overall.
Latest Badminton Betting Odds
Below we have put together a Badminton betting table for the best of the first round matches. A handful of the first-round matches are not listed. This is because some players are waiting on the outcome of Thursday’s qualifiers to find out who they are playing.
The odds we have used are from the best online Badminton betting sites. For more information about the sportsbooks on our Badminton betting table, please visit our free bets and promotions page.
| Player |  | | Player |
| Elias Bracke | +800 | -2500 | Mark Caljouw |
| Pablo Abian | -115 | -115 | Samuel Hsiao |
| Bernardo Atilano | +333 | -500 | Kai Schaefer |
| Collins Valentine Filimon | -3300 | +900 | James Robertson |
| Kalle Koljonen | -115 | -115 | Joran Kweekel |
| S. Sankar | -225 | +162 | Max Weisskirchen |
| Nhat Nguyen | -500 | +333 | Matthias Kicklitz |
| Samuel O'Brien Ricketts | +175 | -250 | Markus Barth |
| Luis Enrique Penalver | -115 | -105 | Victor Kauffmann |
| Lucas Claerbout | -1200 | +600 | Tobias Kuenzi |
Nhat Nguyen vs. Matthias Kicklitz Picks
The first match we are looking at is Nhat Nguyen against Matthias Kicklitz on Friday. Nguyan goes into the match as the heavy favorite. The latest Badminton World Rankings show Nguyen is ranked 38 and Kicklitz is down at 97. This supports the short odds on a Nguyen win.
Nguyen has lost early in a couple of big tournaments lately. But they were in matches against top-quality opposition like Viktor Axelsen, the number one ranked Badminton player in the world.
Nhat Nguyen will have taken a lot from matches against high-quality players like Axelsen, and we think he will have way too much for Kicklitz. We make Nhat Nguyen our pick to beat Kicklitz. If -500 on the money line is too short, then back him to win on the handicap instead.
Joran Kweekel vs. Kalle Koljonen Picks
Another bet we like the look of is in the match between Kalle Koljonen (-115) and Joran Kweekel (-115). Kalle Koljonen is the number three seed and is ranked 55 in the world. His opponent, Joran Kweekel, is unseeded and has a world ranking of 90.
The odds on Kalle Koljonen look a bit too good to ignore. We feel the Finn is worth backing at -115, and make him our second Badminton betting pick.
See below the best online sportsbooks where you can wager online and choose the best one for you:
